Broad Match Modifier: Is Phrase Match the Future?

⬇️ Prefer to listen instead? ⬇️

Google phased out Broad Match Modifier, folding its function into Phrase Match in July 2021.
Phrase Match clicks increased 8% after the update, showing it covered more search queries.
Advertisers now rely more heavily on negative keywords to keep things accurate.
Smart Bidding and automation work better with simpler match types.
A closer link between PPC and SEO is now key for better results.

computer using google ads dashboard

Google Ads Update: What Happened to Broad Match Modifier?

Google Ads updates often change digital advertising, but getting rid of Broad Match Modifier (BMM) is a big shift in how marketers pick keywords. BMM used to be a main tool for search campaigns, aiming for a balance between reach and how relevant searches were. Now, as part of Google’s July 2021 update, what it did is now part of an improved Phrase Match that focuses on searcher meaning. Understanding this change is important for anyone running PPC campaigns in today’s system, which uses automation a lot.

business team reviewing search data

Understanding the Update: A Breakdown of Google’s Keyword Matching Shift

In July 2021, Google Ads officially changed Broad Match Modifier to Phrase Match. This changed how keywords work with what people search for. Here’s the main point of the change

Advertisers can no longer create new BMM keywords using the “+” symbol.
Phrase Match now includes the main idea of BMM—matching what keywords mean, not just the words themselves.
Google’s new computer program understands context and what people mean when they search, letting Phrase Match match more relevant searches. But it still cares about word order if it changes what the search means.

According to Google’s official blog post:

“Phrase match will expand to cover additional broad match modifier traffic, while still caring about word order when it’s important to the meaning.” (Google, 2021)

This changes Phrase Match from a middle tool to a main way to use keywords—especially when using smart bidding.

marketer analyzing keyword strategy

Broad Match Modifier: Why Advertisers Liked It

Before it went away, Broad Match Modifier was very important in PPC campaign planning, giving a mix of flexibility and control. Here’s why it worked well

Manual control: By adding a “+” before keywords, marketers could say a term had to be there in the user’s search, no matter where it was.
Precision and volume: BMM got searches that were longer and not covered by exact match, but it also kept out unrelated traffic that would show up with broad match.
Less waste: Compared to broad match, BMM cut down on irrelevant impressions, which helped control budgets and relevancy better.

For instance, the keyword +vegan +shoes would match with “best shoes for vegan runners,” “vegan leather shoes,” or “black vegan dress shoes”—all searches that included both terms.

In areas like real estate, healthcare, and consumer electronics, BMM helped advertisers keep costs down while still finding more customers. Its going away has made many marketers look for ways that work just as well.

The New Phrase Match: A Step Forward, Not Just a Swap

The new Phrase Match doesn’t just add BMM’s features—it makes them better using machine learning and understanding language.

Key Features of the New Phrase Match

Matching meaning: It focuses on what words mean, not just their order. Ads can now show for different versions of the keyword phrase, as long as the user means the same thing.
Knowing synonyms and context: Searches don’t need the exact words if the computer sees they mean the same thing.
Word order matters sometimes: Word order is kept only if it changes what the search means (e.g., “flight NYC to LAX” vs. “flight LAX to NYC”).

Example:
Old Phrase Match: "moving services NYC to Boston"
Old Matching Behavior: “cheap moving services NYC to Boston” , “moving services Boston to NYC”
New Matching Behavior: Gets searches like “NYC corporate moving to Boston services”

This is a big deal. It means advertisers get a wider reach while keeping some of the exactness they lost when BMM went away.

Strategic Effects: How This Impacts Marketers

These changes are a big deal. They affect everything about how you do SEM, from how you set up your account to how you track results.

Keyword Reach

Your campaign will likely get more impressions and clicks because Phrase Match now gets traffic that only BMM got before.

Tinuiti reported an 8% increase in Phrase Match clicks after the change because it covered more searches. (Tinuiti, 2021)

Performance Metrics

Expect changes in your reports

CTR might go down if ads show for searches that aren’t quite right.
Conversions might go up or down if new searches are earlier in the buying process.
CPC might go up in competitive areas because you reach more people and bidding changes.

Campaign Management Getting More Complex

Funnily enough, taking away BMM didn’t make managing accounts simpler for everyone. It just made managing searches and negative keywords more complex.

With Phrase Match getting more traffic, negative keywords are your backup for accuracy. You’ll need to look at search terms often and actively filter out bad matches.

digital marketing expert speaking

What Industry Experts Are Saying

People in the SEM community have different views

Some like that there are fewer match types to handle.
Others are worried about losing control, which can waste money.
Most agree that managing negative keywords well is more important than ever.

According to Search Engine Land, many advertisers said they saw a lot more irrelevant matches in the first three months after the update. This led to lots of work on negative keyword lists and changing how keywords were grouped. (Search Engine Land, 2021)

marketer updating digital campaign

How to Change Your Campaigns After BMM is Gone

For marketers looking to work well with the new system, here’s how to do it step-by-step

Check All Keywords

Look at and get rid of any old +keyword modifiers. They don’t work anymore.
Get campaign data to see how old BMM performance compares to new Phrase Match results.

Move Keywords Around Smartly

Use Phrase Match for searches where people want to buy something.
Try Broad Match with Smart Bidding, especially for campaigns to find new customers.

Make Your Negatives Better

Tidy up your account to get rid of duplicates and phrases that don’t work well.
Make negative keyword lists based on what your campaign is trying to do now and its goals.

Use the Search Terms Report to Learn

Use the Search Terms Report often to find

Bad searches to block
New phrases that lead to lots of sales
How users are talking differently in searches, showing what they want

Automation + What People Want = Better Campaigns

To get the best results with this new mix of Phrase Match, use automation features in Google Ads. Since you don’t need to manage keyword lists as closely, campaign success now depends more on

Smart Bidding (like Target ROAS, Max Conversions)
Automatic Rules to change budgets and stop things that aren’t working well
A/B Ad Variants tested with responsive search ads
Dynamic keyword insertion to make ads more relevant

If you do it right, automation lets you focus on the overall plan and ads instead of changing keywords every day.

Use Shared Budgets and Performance Max

Google’s Performance Max campaigns let advertisers use one budget for many places (Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discovery). When used with Phrase Match that understands what people want, Performance Max can automatically make good ad signals stronger.

copywriter creating landing page content

How Your Content Should Match the New Phrase Match

Making content that changes is now directly connected to doing well with PPC.

To get the most return on investment with the new system:

Let search terms that work well give you ideas for blog posts
Match landing page headlines with your Phrase Match ads
Make groups of content about the long-tail searches that get the most sales

For example, if a SaaS product targets “CRM software for small businesses”, it should consider publishing blog posts like “Best CRM tools for startups” or FAQ pages like “What features should a small business CRM have?”

Connecting SEO and SEM by looking at what users want and how they actually search brings paid and organic efforts together—this lowers costs to get customers and increases sales.

Watch These Numbers Closely

To make your campaigns better after BMM is gone, keep checking these things:

KPI	What to Do
CTR	Try new ad text, make keyword groups better
Conversion Rate	Make landing pages match what the audience wants now
CPC	Use Smart Bidding and take out keywords that don’t work well
Search Terms	Add more negative keywords, find new keyword chances

Plan reviews every month or two weeks to check keyword lists, update negative keywords, and see how different ads are doing.

real estate online ad campaign

How Campaigns Are Changing: Real Examples

Think about a real estate company advertising “buy apartments in NYC”

Before (BMM)
+buy +apartment +nyc → matched with “how to buy apartment in nyc”

Now (Phrase Match)
“buy apartment nyc” → matches “best time to buy apartment in nyc”
— but also might get: “buy nyc apartment with student loan” or “nyc apartment gift for parents”

To keep leads good

Add “student,” “gift,” or people who aren’t your target to your negative list
Make ad text more specific to reach only customer groups who spend a lot

Selling online? The same idea works. You can use the new Phrase Match to bring in more users who are thinking about buying, and make ad language better to turn away shoppers who are just looking for the lowest price and aren’t ready to buy.

marketing expert writing on whiteboard

Tips from Experts to Do Well with Phrase Match

Group keywords by where someone is in the buying process, not just the type of phrase
Support every Phrase Match keyword with negative lists made just for it
Only try Broad Match if Smart Bidding is on
Don’t waste performance by A/B testing ad text often
Make content better every 30-60 days using topic ideas from PPC

Phrase Match today is more than just a match type–it’s now a key way to target based on behavior. Think past words—focus on what users really want.

ai generating blog content on laptop